Woman's Afternoon Dress and Hat

Currently not on view

Woman's Afternoon Dress and Hat

1923

Paul Poiret was the most significant and copied Paris fashion designer of the early twentieth century. His inventive and often extreme designs were by the early 1920s more conservative. This tailored afternoon dress and hat pay homage to the discovery of King Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922. The colors draw from an Egyptian palette, and the motifs are likely based on plates in nineteenth-century design books such as those by the English designer and writer Owen Jones. The hat, which references the decoration on Egyptian capitals, was made by Madeleine Panizon, a milliner who worked with Poiret. The ensemble was worn by Vera White, an artist who with her husband, Samuel S. White III, formed a major collection of modern French paintings now at the Museum. Helena Rubinstein was photographed in 1923 wearing an identical dress in advertisements for her cosmetics in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Woman's Afternoon Dress and Hat

Date:

1923

Artist:

Medium:

Dress: Silk crepe de chine and velvet with silk and metallic thread embroidery; Hat: silk satin and tulle with leather appliqué, metallic thread embroidery, and brass studs

Dimensions:

Center Back Length: 48 3/4 inches (123.8 cm)

Classification:

Costume (including accessories)

Credit Line:

Gift of Vera White, 1951

Accession Number:

1951-126-3a,b

Geography:

Made in France, Europe

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Currently not on view